This morning I will begin teaching an 8 week class in Sunday School to the Young Single Adults. It's called Marriage and Family Relations, and the lessons are written to be used for couples who are already married...and have kids. You did catch that I'm teaching the "Singles"? This should be interesting. And yes, I'm a little bit nervous about it. The last thing these young people want is another reminder that they are NOT married yet, or any more PRESSURE to find a companion.
I wonder what kind of marriage relationships they have observed in their lives. Good ones? Scary ones? Angry ones? Boring ones?
I wonder if they would think ours is boring? We spent all day together yesterday, doing very ordinary things, but it was wonderfully pleasant and satisfying. We went for an early morning walk, fixed simple meals together, practiced the Waltz in the living room, went shopping for a few food items, then spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing homemade tortillas and pitas, fresh salsa and a bean dip, and cleaning up all the messes with each one. We went for another walk, and then played for an hour on our new toy (Wii!). There was also plenty of down time to read. It was a very sweet day and we spent it together in peace. Would the young people in my class think this was unbearably dull? Or do they wish for the same kind of thing?
You know, I think I'll ask them. I am curious to find out what they think an ordinary day in the life of a married couple would be like. I just might find myself learning a few things from them.
4 comments:
You will be an inspired teacher for this class. Those are very thoughtful and appropriate questions for these younger brothers and sisters.
Your thoughtful teaching will help them define the kind of marriage they would like to have, which will help them become the kind of person who would fit into that marriage.
When I was single the couple who taught this class always brought a picture of hugging puppies that we always looked forward to. Haha. So... that's always an option.
On a more serious note- just tell stories from your own married life and ask them what they want out of married life and I bet you'll have them hooked.
Dorothy - Kathy forwarded me a link to this post. I'm Katie's sister-in-law and took this class last year (I'm in a young single adult ward in Utah.)
I loved it. The bishopric wives taught the class and it was so comfortable to talk with them and learn from them. Since I graduated from BYU with a degree in Marriage, Family and Human Development, they often looked to me to give insight - but really, I looked to them for examples and real-life applications. It's one thing to read in a book (be it text book or manual) and another to hear real stories. I like the stories, the humorous blunders, the things to learn from. We (meaning YSA's) do sometimes roll our eyes at yet another marriage lesson or raising righteous children or supporting your spouse in a calling lesson, but that's the way it is, and I've learned to apply those things that I can, and file the rest away for later. You will do marvelously! Especially if the Spirit is the teacher.
I remember as a young woman, and then a young single adult being reminded that the more I learned about marriage and child rearing, the better I would be at doing it when the time came. I didn't have kids for 5 years after I was married, so I had quite a few of those lessons along the way.
I am grateful for all of the teachers who I learned from during those times. I still remember a great lesson from when I was in young women. The teacher had brought in a bowl of jello that had hardened, and then brought in a bowl that had the water, food coloring, and sugar, but it didn't have the gelatin. She had put them in the fridge for the same amount of time, and she had done everything the same, except for adding gelatin. She then had us try eating some of both. One tasted like jello, the other like watery kool-aid. She then told us that life is like those two bowls. When we don't have the gospel to help make our lives gel, they are just kind of watery, and we don't hold together well.
I have always wished that I could use that in my own teaching, but have never had a subject that it would really work for. Maybe it could be useful for you, or not, it was useful in my life, so I hope that Sister Drebin knows that it was worth doing, when she was teaching beehives, all those years ago. Maybe I need to write her a letter.
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